The reigning National League Champions Cardinals have lost the best player in all of baseball, and we are now approaching the beginning of their title defense. Who will step up and try to dethrone the champions? Who will elevate their play and claim the MVP from Ryan Braun.? So it must be time to break down the predictions for the 2012 NL season. Just as I did with the American League.
Sports Zone Presents… The National League prediction show.
National League West: Colorado Rockies
Many people have stated that the National League West is a two team race. In my eyes there is a dark horse that has enough power to come steal the NL crown. The Rockies provide a well rounded starting line up that will provide power and great run support to a very weak rotation. You have your main stay power from Todd Helton combined with the breakout abilities of Carlos Gonzalez. Who can give you high average one hundred plus runs batted in. Pepper in Ramon Hernandez, Marco Scutaro and the gem of the off season additions Michael Cuddyer. Cuddyer has been flirting with a .300 batting average and is a fifteen plus home run hitter who will play in a hitter friendly park. Thus the Rockies with this line up can have the west locked down. The weakest link for the Rockies is their rotation, who is lead by Jeremy Guthrie and anchored by forty-nine year old Jamie Moyer. These two men along with Jhoulys Chacin can provide the Rockies with twelve to fifteen wins each, and it’s enough to pull away and claim the West.
As for the Diamondbacks and Giants, it will be an up hill battle to provide the same pop as the Rockies. The Giants are a pitching rich team which is lead by the million dollar one two punch that is Cain and Lincecum. The Diamondbacks have what looks like a one hit wonder pitcher by the name of Ian Kennedy. The question is can the D-backs provide a powerful offensive punch that is lead by Chris Young and Justin Upton? I feel that the line up has holes once you learn how to work around the power of Young who will post thirty-five home runs and steal twenty plus bases. As for the Giants, it has been stated that the team was in the bottom three of all major offensive categories in the National League. With the addition of Melkey Cabrera sure they will be a little better but not well enough to climb out of the basement of offense.
The Dodgers have the reigning Cy Young award winner in Clayton Kershaw. Who posted the pitchers triple crown last season, and should be the National League MVP Matt Kemp. The team’s struggles with ownership and bankruptcy has left it in a true state of limbo. The two mentioned stars will post numbers worthy of awards but they can’t win a title alone.
National League Central: Cincinnati Reds
Before people start clicking away from the page hear me out! The Reds have been knocking on the door of the central title for multiple seasons now. With the departure of “King” Albert the Cardinals have fallen pray to the Reds who have major pop from Votto, Bruce and Phillips. Each Player can provide a high average, fifteen plus home runs and a hundred RBI’s, with some small accent players the Reds will run away with the division. If Cueto can return to his 2010 form where he went 12-7 with a 2.31 earned run average, he should lead the way for Matt Latos and Bronson Arroyo to form a 1-3 that will notch thirty victories combined.
The defending Champion Cardinals have added Carlos Beltran to the mix to complement Berkman, Holliday, and World Series MVP, David Freese. However, you subtract Albert Pujols and it become a zeroing out of talent, sure they can make a run and come away with one of the wild cards. You might have trouble if Chris Carpenter is out much longer as you rotation is counting on a man who missed all of last season in Adam Wainright. The beacon of hope is that Wainwright gave you twenty wins in 2010 and that your third starter Jaime Garcia is coming off of a back to back thirteen win season. Can Garcia have a breakout season and give you fifteen this year?
The Brewers have an outside chance at taking the division if a lot of player come back to previous form and post career high numbers, to make up for the loss of Prince Fielder. Question marks are peppered all over the field of Miller Park. Can Ryan Braun stay focused and put the steroid allegations behind him? Is Yovanni Gallardo a true Ace? Finally, will Zach Greinke ever be his Cy Young self again? As for the Cubs and Pirates, it seems to be time to take a step back wards and rebuild. So they can become players again in the now uncertain National League Central. Lastly the Astros prepare to say goodbye to the National League and hello to the American League West.
National League East: Miami Marlins
Formally known as the Florida Marlins, this franchise under went a massive face lift with a new stadium, new jerseys and a new manager in Ozzie Guillen. To this new format comes new players that will impact the balance of power in the NL East. Jose Reyes escaped the conflict that Mets are facing. Mark Buehrle followed his long time manager to South Beach and will take his eleven seasons of double digit wins with him. Along side Ace Josh Johnson and Carlos Zambrano, the Marlins will give the Phillies big three a run for the best ERA in the NL. Hanley Ramirez provides the what if factor that will ultimately lead the Marlins back to the playoffs and their first NL East title.
The Braves will make a run at the East Title and Wild Card, behind the power of Dan Uggla, Brian McCann, Heyward and Chipper. Heyward will return to his 2010 form and provide an effective bat that the Braves desperately need. As well Dan Uggla will have the most tremendous season of his career and make a very big case to be called the NL MVP. As for the reigning East Champion Phillies, I see the team being in a vulnerable position as their All-Star first and second basemen are both injured. Howard and Utley are the heart beat of the team and even with the best one through three starters and overall pitching staff in the National League, it will not be enough to over come the additions to other teams
As for the Mets, just like the Dodgers no amount of money can keep them out of the basement. It would be surprising if this franchise can rebuild and become a true threat to the division with in the next decade. Paper bags all around for the fans of the metropolitans.
National League Wild Cards: Arizona Diamondbacks & St. Louis Cardinals
With all the uncertainty surrounding the Diamondbacks a few big questions stand out. Can Ian Kennedy win twenty games again? Also, can Trevor Cahill return to his All-Star self? Who will step up and aid Young and Upton in becoming the best offense in the NL? With Manager of the Year, Kirk Gibson, this team can string together enough wins to run away with one of the Wild Cards,. Maybe even capturing the Western Division Championship.
Then you have the defending World Champion Cardinals, who will navigate the weak Central Division and capture the last and final spot in the 2012 playoffs. New manager Mike Matheny will be quick to prove that he can continue the success of former manager Tony La Russa, by helping World Series MVP David Freese transfer his post season ability to the regular season. The addition of Beltran can ease the pain of loosing Albert Pujols, but the chemistry between Holliday and Carlos will ultimately be the factor that leads to the winning season.
National League MVP: Atlanta Braves Second Baseman Dan Uggla
I have been high on Dan Uggla since he broke into the league. With one of his most successful seasons being his first season with the Braves. I feel that this upcoming season will be his coming out party. He will post a .250 average and a career high forty home runs. He will add a hundred and seventy-five hits as well as a hundred and ten runs batted in. These numbers will provide the foundation for his first NL MVP award.
National League Cy Young: Washington Nationals Pitcher Gio Gonzalez
Gio has been poised to run rough shot over the American League. However, A’s General Manager Billy Beane had other thoughts and traded the All-Star to the National League. With this change Gio is ready to take on players who have not seen his fantastic pitching ability. Gonzalez will hand you two hundred quality innings, and about two hundred strikeouts. As a result of those number Gio can easily win twenty games this season and have a low 3.00 ERA, provided he gets run support from the likes of Werth, Zimmerman, and Danny Espinosa.
National League Manager of the Year: Colorado Rockies Jim Tracy
Jim Tracy is no stranger to the running of Manager of the Year, as he took home the hardware back in 2009. This season will be no different as he will lead the Rockies from the middle of the Western Division pack to claim the NL West title. He has his best line up as a manger, using stars like Todd Helton, Troy Tulowitzki and new comers like Marco Scutaro and Michael Cuddyer. The Rockies look like an All-Star team, and under the guidance of Tracy they should have no problem running away with the wild wild west.
National League Rookie of the Year: Washington Nationals Outfielder Bryce Harper
It will only be a matter of time when Mr. Harper will be called up. The moment that he does, the 2010 Golden Spikes Award winner will make a major impact the likes of which Steven Strasburg did. This spring Harper was not driving in runs, however he did post a high average. Given time he will find his swing and provide you with fifteen home runs and seventy-five runs batted in and will lead him to be the unanimous Rookie of the Year.
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